Steven Mayle, accused of intentionally striking two students with his vehicle at Bridgewater State University, has been ordered to undergo further mental health evaluation.
The morning that was supposed to mark a celebratory Homecoming weekend at Bridgewater State University shattered in seconds when a vehicle bypassed the road. drove over the curbs. and barreled into two pedestrians. By Monday, the legal proceedings for the man behind the wheel had already stalled. A judge in Brockton District Court ruled that 44-year-old Steven Mayle is not competent to stand trial for the Saturday morning attack.
Mayle, of Weymouth, is currently being evaluated at Bridgewater State Hospital. During Monday’s arraignment, Dr. Niklos Tomich recommended the additional review, a request the court granted to determine whether Mayle can navigate the legal process. While a formal plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. the court ordered him held without bail pending a final dangerousness hearing. following a push by prosecutors who labeled him a threat to the public.
The violence unfolded around 10:45 a.m. Saturday on Burrill Avenue, near the university’s Moakley Center academic building. According to police, Mayle accelerated his vehicle intentionally toward the students. Even after striking the pair. he allegedly fled the scene at a high rate of speed. driving on two flat tires. The female victim was hospitalized with a concussion, head trauma, and other minor injuries, requiring an overnight stay. The male student, who sustained minor injuries, stayed behind in the immediate aftermath to assist his classmate.
The sequence of events suggests a man in the grip of an unraveling mental state. Defense attorneys argued in court that the entire episode was precipitated by a severe mental health crisis. When questioned by police at the hospital before his arraignment. Mayle claimed he had stopped taking his prescribed medication a few days prior. He told investigators he was hearing voices and insisted he had recently driven all the way to the Pentagon in Virginia. convinced that people were poisoning his food and medications. He also made incoherent remarks alleging that the Weymouth Police Department and the Department of Children and Families were engaging in a campaign of “psychological warfare” against him.
Authorities believe the violence did not start at the university. Investigators have linked Mayle to a separate road-rage incident in East Bridgewater earlier that same Saturday, where he allegedly brandished a knife at another driver.
Mayle now faces two counts of attempted murder. two counts of assault to murder. and one charge of leaving the scene of a crash. His attorney declined to provide further details regarding the defense as the case heads toward an October 23 hearing. For now, the legal path forward remains suspended by the question of the defendant’s own mind.
Bridgewater State University Steven Mayle Brockton District Court assault campus safety